The University of Nairobi Council is in a spot for overlooking an advisory by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) by appointing a Chief Operating Officer (COO) whose bachelor’s degree certificate is not recognised in Kenya.
This came as it emerged that the UoN Council flouted the Universities Act of 2012 by varying the charter when creating new positions among them the COO.
In the October 4, 2024 letter to Prof Amukowa Anangwe, the Chairperson of Council, University of Nairobi, EACC CEO Mr Twalib Mbarak had warned that the appointment of Mr Brian Ouma as the University’s acting COO was irregular and must be revoked.
Mr Mbarak told the UoN Council that the Bachelor of Philosophy degree certificate from Pontifical Urbaniana University that Mr Ouma used to seek employment at the University of Nairobi (UoN) is questionable as it is not recognised in Kenya.
“Since Mr Ouma possesses a degree certificate that is not recognised in Kenya, he is not qualified to hold the current substantive position of director,” Mr Twalib told the UoN Council in the letter copied to Chief of Staff and Head of Public Service Felix Koskei. Mr Ouma is the current substantive Director of Advancement at the UoN.
The EACC letter is also copied to Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba, Higher Education Principal Secretary Dr Beatrice Inyangala and UoN acting Vice Chancellor Prof Margaret Jesang Hutchinson.
The EACC is established under the EACC Act with the mandate of combating and preventing corruption and unethical conduct in Kenya.
The commission is mandated to oversee and enforce the implementation of the EACC Act, which exists to ensure that state and public officers uphold high standards of integrity and ethical conduct while discharging public duty.
EACC notes that COO is a top management position and the UoN Council “ought to have varied and aligned its statutory instruments through the Cabinet Secretary” in charge of Education.
Mr Ouma has been the acting COO at the UoN since July 12, 2021, when he was “irregularly” appointed by the University Council.
In light of the findings by the EACC, Mr Twalib went on to advise the UoN Council to take administrative action on the appointment of Mr Ouma as the Director Advancement as his degree is questionable.
To remedy the situation, Mr Twalib advised the UoN Council to move to court and have the pending court cases on the “proposed” administrative positions heard and determined on priority and apprise the EACC of the action taken within 30 days “upon receipt of this advisory.”
However, a month and three days after the EACC advisory, Prof Hutchinson, the secretary to the UoN Council, in a letter, notified Mr Ouma that his appointment as the University’s acting COO has been renewed until a substantive holder is recruited.
“I am pleased to inform you that you have been appointed to serve in an acting capacity as Chief Operating Officer for a period of six months effective from October 19, 2024, up to and including April 18, 2025 or until the position is substantively filled, whichever is earlier,” Prof Hutchinson says in the November 7, 2024 letter.
Prof Hutchinson notified Mr Ouma that the renewal of his appointment was pursuant to the resolutions from the 146th UoN Council meeting held on October 31, 2024 and November 4, 2024.
The letter was copied to Deputy Vice Chancellors in charge of Academic Affairs and Research Innovation and Enterprise (RIE), registrar administration, director finance and director of human resource.
The investigations established that Mr Ouma obtained a mean grade of C- (Minus) in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) “and thus he did not have the necessary qualifications for direct entry into the university to undertake a degree programme in Kenya.”
The EACC discovered that Mr Ouma enrolled at Apostles of Jesus Philosophicum (AJP) Major Seminary affiliated with Pontifical Urbaniana University (PUU) for his Bachelor of Philosophy.
According to the EACC, the Commission of University Education (CUE) confirmed that as of 2003 “and under the provisions of criteria for accreditation, rule 14 of the Universities standardisation, accreditation and supervision rules, PUU was not an accredited institution in Kenya.
Mr Twalib further noted that the position of deputy director required one to hold either a Masters or a Bachelor’s degree while the position of director required one to hold a Master’s degree.
The EACC found that the position of COO has no indents- the qualifications, job description and remuneration- as the council is yet to vary and align the University Charter and Statutes.
“It is the considered view of the EACC that any position created in contravention of the charter and statutes is illegal, null and void,” says Mr Twalib.
The EACC established that on July 12, 2021, the UoN Council resolved to reorganise the administrative positions and created 14 positions among them the COO, pending alignment of the University’s statutory instruments.
“To date, the Council has yet to vary its statutory instruments in line with the reorganisation of the administrative positions and incorporate the position of COO,” Mr Twalib told the UoN Council.
The EACC in line with the Leadership and Integrity Act of 2012 is empowered to require public entities to carry out such functions and exercise such powers as may be necessary to enforce compliance with leadership and integrity requirements.
